About book The Gentleman Poet: A Novel Of Love, Danger, And Shakespeare's The Tempest (2010)
A historical romance, perhaps, but not of the conventional sense - it's also a tale of the survivors of the shipwreck of the Sea Venture, who lived on Bermuda for nearly a year before finally getting to Virginia. The research is solid, with a lot about the everyday necessities of life: shelter, food (lots of historical recipes), personal safety.The plot rolls along (mostly) nicely; I delete one star because the ending felt rushed to me. I enjoyed Elizabeth Persons' discovering her ability to survive and even thrive in the extreme circumstances of the shipwreck, and the way the ship's crew and passengers reinforced or ignored the social structure brought with them from England was illuminating, as I've always been rather impressed at how much class and status was enforced in the wilds of the Jamestown colony.Worth checking out, if you have any interest in romance, adventure, Elizabethan or early American history. I do not quite know how to review this book. There were parts of it that completely captured me. The tumultuous storm at sea and subsequent ship wreck were vivid. The difficulties faced on the island which the shipmates were marooned on were very real. I could easily envision exactly what Miranda saw each day, either while in the hut with Mistress Horton or seated on the dunes with Willian Strachey or cooking in her little hut removed from the settlement and facing the sea- the translucent, cerulean blue waters of the ocean, the tar strewn and sea foam covered beaches, the thick brush of the inner part of the island, the dingy huts with their inadequate furnishing, the little glades and clearings where herbs and other edible vegetives were found in copious abundance. It was very real. I especially loved Miranda's ability- due to her father's profession as an apothecary in London- to decipher the various herbs and vegetives and their medicinal, as well as, flavor enhancing properties. The recipes that were put at the end of the some of the chapters, especially in the older English, were wonderful, too. The love story was very touching and genuine. I could perfectly relate to Miranda's emotions throughout the plot. I particularly loved Will's part in the matchmaking. It continually evoked the idea of youth being wasted on the young and brought a smile to my lips. However, numerous elements of the story were bittersweet, at times, tragic. It did make the story a little hard, but emphasized how the hearts of adventurers are prepared, oftentimes, for the hardships they will face. Excellently written, entwining Shakespeare's The Tempest, as well as other bits of his writing, into the story. I particularly loved that element. I recommend it to those who love an adventure, to those that love a love story, to those that love anything related to Shakespeare.
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I know I read this book...I just can't especially remember it. But I remember I liked it.
—Kayla
